Ok. It is just slightly difficult to swallow, that you had the entire harvest for 2012. I don't know, just one of those things. Like when Honora says they buy up all the Ming pearls.
Southsea Pearl vs Edison Pearls
- Thread starter EileenK
- Start date
Ok. It is just slightly difficult to swallow, that you had the entire harvest for 2012. I don't know, just one of those things. Like when Honora says they buy up all the Ming pearls.
And how do SSP traders deal with fading colours ??
jshepherd
Pearl Paradise
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2004
- Messages
- 6,299
When Grace announced their Edison pearls in 2012, I believe it was, they invited buyers from all over the world. The auction was right after Christmas so there was no way I was going to attend, but I know a lot of people in Hong Kong who did get strands and loose pearls. The prices were insane.
The first bead-nucleated pearls that were later called fireballs came out in 2002 or 2003, I believe. I brought two strands back and they made the cover of Modern Jewelry Magazine because we had never seen bead-nucleated freshwater pearls before. Those two strands were how I became friends with Jack Lynch. He called me after the article came out and I introduced him to the producer who was creating them. He debuted a strand in Tucson a year later that got a lot of press.
The metallic luster we often see is not a result of treatment. It's natural. I know this because I've seen pearls come out of the shell with that luster. There is a photo somewhere on here and (I believe) somewhere on our blog showing a souffle pearl freshly pulled out of a shell with metallic luster. I can't find that particular image, but it was around the time we brought this lot in.
Will it last forever? That's hard to say. Does the shine of akoya last forever? That completely depends on the quality of the pearl, the treatment it received in the beginning, and the treatment it receives by the owner.
Grace was the company that first put together the original metallic strands for us in 2006. They weren't bead nucleated. This was before they moved completely into beaded pearls. When we did a Facebook live session a few months back I showed a couple of those original strands that I had found in the back of my desk in a plastic bag. They had been sealed in a plastic bag for more than a decade and they were still metallic. They looked exactly the same. I don't think the same could be said for most akoya strands.
The nacre thickness is typically very good. Freshwater nacre deposition is so much faster than saltwater. According to Strack, they deposition can reach 4-5 mm per year.
I've always felt freshwater pearls get a bad rap for durability and it used to be deserved. But I believe the fading was related to poor processing or over-processing. It happened to us before and was even reported on Pearl-Guide years and years ago. A strand of our freshwater pearls (freshadama) had turned. But this hasn't happened again in recent history.
The first bead-nucleated pearls that were later called fireballs came out in 2002 or 2003, I believe. I brought two strands back and they made the cover of Modern Jewelry Magazine because we had never seen bead-nucleated freshwater pearls before. Those two strands were how I became friends with Jack Lynch. He called me after the article came out and I introduced him to the producer who was creating them. He debuted a strand in Tucson a year later that got a lot of press.
The metallic luster we often see is not a result of treatment. It's natural. I know this because I've seen pearls come out of the shell with that luster. There is a photo somewhere on here and (I believe) somewhere on our blog showing a souffle pearl freshly pulled out of a shell with metallic luster. I can't find that particular image, but it was around the time we brought this lot in.
Will it last forever? That's hard to say. Does the shine of akoya last forever? That completely depends on the quality of the pearl, the treatment it received in the beginning, and the treatment it receives by the owner.
Grace was the company that first put together the original metallic strands for us in 2006. They weren't bead nucleated. This was before they moved completely into beaded pearls. When we did a Facebook live session a few months back I showed a couple of those original strands that I had found in the back of my desk in a plastic bag. They had been sealed in a plastic bag for more than a decade and they were still metallic. They looked exactly the same. I don't think the same could be said for most akoya strands.
The nacre thickness is typically very good. Freshwater nacre deposition is so much faster than saltwater. According to Strack, they deposition can reach 4-5 mm per year.
I've always felt freshwater pearls get a bad rap for durability and it used to be deserved. But I believe the fading was related to poor processing or over-processing. It happened to us before and was even reported on Pearl-Guide years and years ago. A strand of our freshwater pearls (freshadama) had turned. But this hasn't happened again in recent history.
LondonPearl
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 14, 2015
- Messages
- 141
It's a pity you never came to the Basel show in 2012. The entire harvest was on my stand for all to see .....
LondonPearl
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 14, 2015
- Messages
- 141
Jeremy - I think that keeping pearls in a "sealed plastic bag" does not duplicate how pearls might look after a decade of wear. I agree with you that the metallic lustre is naturally occurring. I also agree that freshwater pearls generally get a bad rap on the durability front - I think they are actually much more robust than any Akoya on a like for like basis. My feeling - having worked with "Edison's" since the outset is that there is a longevity issue. My opinion is that sunlight or exposure to general atmospheric conditions leads to a slow but noticeable deterioration. Akoya pearls also seem to change over the longer term. I just feel that this is an issue worthy of discussion. If there is a level of deterioration - if we can determine the cause - we could then advise our customers on the best care to minimise this. As I said earlier on the thread - I will bring samples for anyone to examine to all my September shows in London, Vicenza and Hong Kong.
Pandorasbox
Member
- Joined
- May 9, 2017
- Messages
- 13
Very interesting.
I will be at Olympia next weekend, I have a few Edison's myself so it will be helpful to know where you are going with this.
lilliefuzzysocks
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Messages
- 1,146
We went shopping for Edison's at Pearl Paradise in November 6 2012 Here is Newberry with Jeremy, they went shopping for her's and mine. He had gotten them earlier but we had to wait for them to arrive then she went up there.
lilliefuzzysocks
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Messages
- 1,146
These strands of Edison's were for sale at Pearl Paradise in July of 2011 at the ruckus. There had been more but they sold fast.
Jwymark
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 19, 2017
- Messages
- 55
Those Edison pendants are beautiful lilliefuzzysocks! Do you still have them? If you bought them in 2012 maybe you could tell us if you can see any deterioration in your pearls?
lilliefuzzysocks
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Messages
- 1,146
It's just as beautiful as the day Cynde and Jeremy selected it for me. My husband just took it out side for this photo. It's copper with a green halo.
lilliefuzzysocks
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Messages
- 1,146
I have other Grace pearls from July 2009 also. These are tissue nucleated 11mm metallic 8 way rollers I got from Pearl Paradise. I bought 4 pairs of earrings (3 in photo) and a necklace. All still look just like they did when I purchased them. None have changed color or have lost their luster or got chalky.
Jwymark
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 19, 2017
- Messages
- 55
Still looks just as beautiful to me
I wonder why London Pearl appears to be having an issue with theirs. Maybe they can explain when I see them in London.
JerseyPearl
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2014
- Messages
- 5,884
That copper/green pearl is incredible! I would have thought it was a Tahitian in your 'outside' photo.
Icyjade
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2014
- Messages
- 573
In one of the older threads, Jeremy had mentioned that the earliest batches of pearls were at astronomical prices and sold on consignment. If you do a search for auction you'll probably find the thread... so yeah, I believe LP.
Was curious so I did a search and this is the thread where Jeremy mentioned the first auction and insane prices:
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?5244-Edison-Pearls-go-on-Auction
LP: thanks for bringing this up for discussion and certainly agree it is worth discussing. Before I caught the pearl bug, one thing that really concerned me was how durable pearls are... and then I fell in love with pearls and now I mostly tell myself YOLO. But then again durability is still enough of a concern that I won't buy conch or melo pearls as the brilliant colors that I love so much are known to fade. If the same concern exists in fwp then it will definitely affect future buying decisions.
As Jeremy mentioned, the deterioration could be due to poor/over-processing. Maybe at that time the Chinese didn't have the right processing techniques and know-how? But given how much the fwp industry has advanced over the past years, I'm inclined to think that even if there is a problem with the current fwp, eventually the Chinese will catch up and stabilise the treatment methods for better longevity. Anyway as mentioned before, time will tell. It'll certainly be interesting to look back at this thread in another 5 years.
Any reason why that would be the case? Are you referring to the latest Edisons or older stock?
